We are a movement of generosity.

The average American church member gives 2.58% of their income. Once it makes it into the hands of churches, only about 2% makes it to missions and poor. That means Christians are only giving about two percent of two percent. In the midst of a culture of greed, we are committed to the subversive lifestyle of extravagant generosity. We aim for 50% of our funds to go to missions and the poor. This requires faith.

But we are also a movement of wisdom. When we receive missions requests and partnership opportunities, we run them through the following lenses, asking these five questions:

1. Does this “remember the poor” (Galatians 2:10)?Jesus and his followers declared the good news of the kingdom through both words and deeds to the blind, the lame, the deaf, the mute, the leper, and the poor (Luke 7:18-23; 9:1-2; 10:9). Multitudes of biblical passages make clear that God measures cultures and peoples by what they do about the poorest among them. As the body of Christ, we are to create an alternative culture that declares this kingdom in both words and deed – especially to the least of these. We believe embracing our own mutual brokenness is central to poverty alleviation so that we can truly help others without hurting them and ourselves.

2. Does this reach the lesser reached?Jesus was quite clear in his command to bring the news of His kingdom to every single human on the planet. We are troubled by the incredibly high volume of missions dollars spent to reach the already reached, while the lesser-reached people groups remain untouched. We embrace the call to give of ourselves and go where others are not going, and reach out and love the isolated, unreached, and those deemed untouchable by society. Thus, we are particularly interested in partnering with ministry committed to bring the Gospel where it is not already common.

3. Does this include indigenous partnership?We recognize that good intensions are not enough, and working with people rather than for them is often the best avenue for helping that helps and does not harm. It is empowering, mobilizing, and dignity-laden. Working with local churches and local resources creates lasting change. Missions without indigenous partnerships communicates that solutions to the community's problems must come from outside of that community, instead of recognizing and affirming the God-given gifts and assets within every individual and community.

4. Is this work sustainable and reproducible?We want to set up systems that are easily reproduced and maintainable so that every good work we put into practice does not create dependency on us. Disciples reproduce who they are, so we want our efforts, skills, and talents that we bring to the table to be reproduced and carried out in others after we are gone.

5. Is this ministry prayer saturated?“As long as they sought the Lord, God made him prosper” (2 Chronicles 26:5). We desire to partner in mission with those who radically seek the face of God. We want every missional endeavor to be covered in prayer and fasting so that everything we do flows out of seeking the Lord. We want to partner on earth with where we see His Spirit moving. Only by first seeking Him will we be able to move in His power, speaking for the voiceless, empowering the downcast, and helping the oppressed.

Think your missions approach and project aligns with ours? Looking for support for your short or mid-term mission trip? Download our Missions Support Application and email it to Jon at jlash@greenhousechurch.org once completed. Our missions budget is set up in a way that a specific amount is allotted to support short-term missionaries each year. We have a very high number of people requesting financial support. In considering requests we give priority to ministries with a clear a strong vision for our mission priorities, the lesser reached, remembering the poor, sustainability, indigenous partnership and prayer saturation. We also love to give to missionaries that financially give to other missionaries and give priority to Greenhouse Church members who tithe, serve and are actively involved in a microchurch or campus small group.